Trump vows to be more presidential if elected

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign trip to Arizona (all times Eastern Standard Time):

>>VIDEO: Trump's rally in Tucson, AZ
>>VIDEO: Trump's rally in Fountain Hills, AZ


7:45 p.m.

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour says he has no plans to endorse any of the 2016 GOP candidates for president but that he will ultimately support the nominee.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Barbour said Saturday that front-runner Donald Trump is best positioned to win a majority of the delegates ahead of the July convention, but added that there is "some chance that no one will win a majority in the primaries or caucuses."

Barbour detailed the economic shortfalls of President Barack Obama's administration and said that he will ultimately support the Republican nominee because "who ever that is will be better than Hillary Clinton."

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6:55 p.m.

Donald Trump says that he will act presidential if he is elected president, but that the job requires someone who is willing to fight.

Speaking Saturday at a campaign rally in Tucson, Arizona, the billionaire businessman said he promised his daughter and wife that he would act more presidential. He immediately shifted gears pointing to former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney as a "stiff" and vowed to be tough if he is elected president.

He then declared to the audience that he has fallen "in love" with a Latino woman who he called up on stage because she was holding a sign declaring that Latinos are with Trump.

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6:25 p.m.

Donald Trump says protesters at his rally are "taking away our First Amendment rights" and vowed to take the country back if he's elected president.

His comments at a campaign rally in Tucson prompted chants of "U.S.A.! U.S.A!" from the crowd. Trump accused Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton of sending the protesters, saying that he is the last person she wants to run against in the general election.

A number of protesters interrupted his campaign speech at the rally. At first he dismissed them, and then he kicked them out.

He called one protester, who wore the Klu Klux Klan hood, "disgusting." Another group, carrying a "Black Lives Matter" sign were kicked out.

Earlier Saturday, protesters blocked a main highway leading to Trump's rally in a Phoenix suburb.

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6:20 p.m.

Arizona's contentious Sheriff Joe Arpaio says his officers locked up protesters who blocked a main highway leading to a Donald Trump rally and "threw them in jail."

Arpaio, addressing a crowd in Tucson, Arizona at Trump's third and final event Saturday, said he's impressed with Trump's assertive approach to campaigning, and said he's sure that Trump will deliver on his promises, particularly his vow to build a border wall with Mexico.

Arpaio has endorsed Trump's bid for the White House and introduced him at events in Tucson and an earlier event in his home town of Fountain Hills, Arizona.

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5:45 p.m.

About 100 people are gathering outside the Tuscon, Arizona venue where Donald Trump will hold a campaign rally.

The event is Trump's third and final scheduled event in Arizona Saturday, each of which has been marked by protests.

Earlier Saturday, protesters blocked the main highway leading to the Phoenix suburb where Trump appeared with Arizona's contentious Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Hundreds of people attended the earlier rally, which took place without incident.

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3:15 p.m.

Several hundred demonstrators in New York City are continuing to protest Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump.

The protesters gathered Saturday in Manhattan's Columbus Circle, across from Central Park, amid a heavy police presence.

Demonstrators chanted: "Donald Trump, go away, racist, sexist, anti-gay."

They marched across south Central Park to Trump Tower, the Fifth Avenue skyscraper where Trump lives. Then they marched back to Columbus Circle for a rally.

The protest was largely peaceful though there was one tense moment when some protesters tried to break through a police barricade.

Two protesters who walked in the street were arrested.

Various groups including immigrants' rights activists and socialists organized the protest.

One sign read "Love Trumps Hate." Another read, "Will trade 1 Donald Trump for 25,000 refugees."

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3:05 p.m.

Thousands of people are gathered in a Phoenix suburb as Donald Trump delivers a campaign speech in the hometown of the state's contentious Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Demonstrators chanted "Stop the hate" at the Saturday rally in Fountain Hills, Arizona, as introduced Trump at the rally. The protesters were booed and jeered as they made their way through the crowd as a large group of officers with Arpaio's office made their way toward them.

Trump supporters countered with chants of "Trump! Trump! Trump!" and "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!"

One Trump supporter yelled, "learn to speak English."

"You can't even show your face," a Trump supporter yelled at a protester with a bandanna over her face.

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2:55 p.m.

Demonstrators are marching through a crowd that gathered at the edge of a park in a Phoenix suburb as a Donald Trump campaign rally gets set to begin.

The protesters, who earlier Saturday had blocked the main highway leading to the event, were outside the perimeter set up by the Secret Service around the main rally site but still surrounded by thousands of Trump backers.

Trump's motorcade arrived just as the demonstrators weaved through the crowd. He's set to speak alongside Arizona's contentious Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The demonstrators were barely visible behind the Trump supporters, who waved signs saying "Hillary for Prison" - referring to Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton - and "Joe for VP," referring to Arpaio.

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2:30 p.m.

Ted Cruz is echoing a statement by former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney that voting for his rival John Kasich would inevitably lead to Donald Trump becoming this year's nominee.

Cruz, speaking to reporters in Draper, Utah Saturday ahead of the state's caucuses, urged voters to instead vote for him since he said he's best-positioned to beat the GOP front-runner.

Cruz also lashed out at Trump for questioning whether Mitt Romney is really a Mormon, calling it deplorable.

Romney said Friday he would vote for Cruz in Tuesday's caucuses, saying in a Facebook statement that Trump "has become associated with racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, vulgarity and, most recently, threats and violence."

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2:15 p.m.

Vehicles on a highway outside Phoenix are now moving again after protesters denouncing Donald Trump's candidacy blocked the only major road leading to the site of the GOP front-runner's rally.

Officers remained on both sides of the road Saturday to ensure the crowd of some two dozen protesters was dispersing.

Dozens of people filed back to their vehicles. It was not clear how many were protesters and how many were merely spectators.

The disruption occurred well after large crowds lined up to get into the Fountain Hills rally, where Trump is scheduled to speak alongside Arizona's revered Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

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1:20 p.m.

Protesters are blocking a main highway leading into the Phoenix suburb where Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is set to hold a campaign rally.

The protesters parked their cars in the middle of the road Saturday, unfurling banners with anti-Trump slogans and chanting "Trump is hate." The disruption caused a lengthy traffic backup, and drivers honked their horns in frustration.

Maricopa County Sheriff Deputy Joaquin Enriquez said officers will ask the protesters to move and if they don't comply, they will forcibly remove them.

The disruption occurred well after large crowds lined up to get into the Fountain Hills rally, where Trump is scheduled to speak alongside Arizona's revered Sheriff Joe Arpaio.